Racially Mixed Conjugal Unions in Three Canadian Large Cities

Dana Hamplova, Czech Academy of Sciences
Celine Le Bourdais, McGill University

This study investigates racial exogamy in Canada. Using the 2001 Census data, the article analyses the occurrence of White/non-White unions in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. Log-linear models indicate that the relative levels of interracial relationships vary across racial groups, immigration status, and place of residence. The highest odds of cohabiting or marrying a White person are found among Blacks, a finding that stands in stark contrast with the results of studies from the US but corroborates the situation observed in the UK. The highest levels of racial exogamy are found among couples comprising an immigrant and a non-immigrant, but this effect varies across racial groups. Finally, contrary to our expectation, we find that French Canadians are not more inclusive of their linguistic counterparts than Anglophones.